Leon Panetta, the US Secretary of Defence, has noted that Israel is becoming increasingly isolated in the region and called for a bold action by both sides toward a negotiated two-state solution.

But it is not just Israel - the United States of America is becoming increasingly isolated, as well.

But why are Israel and the USA becoming isolated? And what "bold action" is needed to end this "isolation"?

Israel and the USA are becoming increasingly isolated because they seek to promote their "national interests" by violence of wars and deceptions of "diplomacy", and the rest of the world are increasingly turning away from such practices and towards a world order based on Rule of Law and mutually beneficial trade and cooperation.

At the root of all this is the so-called "Middle East Conflict". Resolving this conflict would end Israel's isolation.

At the start of this century, the Arab States had offered Israel peace and full recognition in exchange for removal of all the Israeli presence from the land occupied by Israel in 1967, and implementation by Israel of the UN resolution 194 (return or compensation) of the Palestinians displaced from the land taken over by Israel in 1948. So, one "bold step" taken by Israel and the USA would be to accept and implement this Arab peace proposal.

But the Israeli Government do not want to accept this proposal. In this case the only alternative would be to buy all of Palestine for a price that no Palestinian would refuse to accept. This would be another "bold step" that can end Israel's (and the USA's) isolation.